After opening up about his sexual identity to his religious community, the former 'American Idol' contestant says he feels 'so much relief' to not feel like hiding 'a secret.'
- Jun 24, 2021
AceShowbiz - David Archuleta believes his sexuality doesn't conflict with his faith. In a new interview, the former "American Idol" contestant admitted that thankfully, he doesn't feel rejected by his religious community after opening up about his sexual preference to a few leaders of the Mormon Church.
The 30-year-old singer spoke out about how Mormon church leaders reacted to his coming out when making an appearance on "Good Morning America" on Wednesday, June 23. The musician, who also appeared in an episode of "Hannah Montana" season 3, said that he hasn't felt rejected after revealing his sexual identity to church leaders.
Aside from being candid about his Mormon upbringing, David, who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also shared that he even prayed about changing his sexuality. He told "GMA" host Steve Osunsami, "I've prayed. I was praying like, 'God, you can do all things.' ... I would say, 'Please take these feelings away from me because I don't want to feel things that I shouldn't and I don't want to feel things that would be wrong.' "
"That's been the process. I've had to learn how to love myself, even when I don't understand why I am the way that I am," David continued. "To learn that that's how God has created me. And I have to discover that, and there's so many millions of other people who have gone through the same thing as me - they've tried to change who they are."
While David previously did not put a label on his sexuality in his coming out post, in the interview, he identified himself as "some form of being bisexual." The "Crush" singer pointed out, "Because I'm still attracted to both, whether I want to or not." He also stressed, "I still believe in saving myself for marriage."
He also admitted he was "scared" before coming out. "Because I always felt there was something that I had to keep to myself," he confessed. "There's so much relief to not feel like you have to hide a part of yourself, like a secret."
In his coming out announcement he shared on his Instagram account on June 12, David revealed the conflicts between his sexuality and religious beliefs. "I like to keep to myself but also thought this was important to share because I know so many other people from religious upbringings feel the same way," he wrote. "I've been open to myself and my close family for some years now that I am not sure about my own sexuality."
"I just invite you to please consider making room to be more understanding and compassionate to those who are LGBTQIA+, and those who are a part of that community and trying to find that balance with their faith which also is a huge part of their identity like myself," he added. "I think we can do better as people of faith and Christians, including Latter-day Saints, to listen more to the wrestle between being LGBTQIA+ and a person of faith…"
